Man in the Middle

Ripped from today's headlines, Brian Haig's new novel finds Army lawyer Sean Drummond caught between duty to Washington's elite and the soldiers in Iraq. Dispatched to investigate the suicide of one of D.C.'s most influential defense officials, an ardent, early supporter of the war in Iraq, Drummond and his female partner find themselves in the middle of a tug-of-war between Washington's most influential power brokers and his own personal allegiance to the soldiers dying overseas.

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Publisher's Summary

Ripped from today's headlines, Brian Haig's new novel finds Army lawyer Sean Drummond caught between duty to Washington's elite and the soldiers in Iraq.

Dispatched to investigate the suicide of one of D.C.'s most influential defense officials, an ardent, early supporter of the war in Iraq, Drummond and his female partner find themselves in the middle of a tug-of-war between Washington's most influential power brokers and his own personal allegiance to the soldiers dying overseas. What he uncovers are the secrets that led to the war, secrets that, once exposed, would destroy public support and undermine the presidency. Now Drummond faces the greatest moral quandary of his life: what is the true meaning of patriotism?

I realize several other readers have made the same comment, but I did want to stress how incredibly distracting it was to change readers in this series. I nearly quit listening several times, until the book itself became so interesting that I could stop being distracted by the "wrong" voice. The narrator was adequate, but in my brain, I hear Scott Brick as Sean Drummond. PLEASE, Brian Haig, insist on Scott in the future! The book was very good, and I learned a great deal about the Middle East, but I nearly gave up in the early going. I'm not sure the narrator always understood Sean's sense of irony or humor. He quite literally trampeled on the jokes, and the humor was badly needed to offset the grimness of the subject matter.

I am not certain why the current narrator breathes so loudy, but either the producers made an error in muting a natural breathing technique, or the narrator himself needs to quell his inhilations.

As for the story itself, it was top-rate. It's not often I read a thriller and come away thinking that I need to do historical research on the subject matter. Well done, Brian Haig.

I really struggled through this book because of the narrator -- his voice just didn't jibe with the character of Sean Drummond. I agree with the first reviewer -- please bring back Scott Brick or John Rubenstein. I only rated the book three stars, though it may have deserved more, because I just couldn't get by the narrator's voice.

Brian Haig has created a rich and compelling character named Sean Drummond but this time Sean didn't seem the same. It went off track for me when I heard the reader's voice -- too old for Sean. His female characters had deeper voices than the males. Please, bring back the old Sean and one of the other readers -- Scott Brick or John Rubenstein. Don't miss other Haig books. They really are fantastic.

The book is on a timely topic and really quite good. The reader, however, does not do justice to the character of Sean Drummond. As a consequence, Drummond came across as too much of a heavy. I hope that Scott Brick returns as reader in the next book by Haig.

I enjoy Brian Haig's series, and I love Sean Drummond (kind of John Corey's brother in the service). I had grown very familiar with the voice of Scott Brick in this series, and missed his voice to a point of near distraction during the first several chapters. By the time I stopped thinking about how much better it could have been, the book really developed into an interesting story, a great fictional adventure in war torn Iraq. I recommend sticking with it, the story is worth it. And, I further recommend that if Brian writes another Sean Drummond book, he fire whichever publisher or agent chose the wrong reader for his hero.

The plot seemed to dwell for hours on the opening event. I started to feel like "enough is enough".

The story about half way really picked up and had my attention all the way thereafter. I actually enjoyed the overall story when it was finished. I enjoy the Sean Drummond character (President's Assasin was very good). I enjoyed the interaction with the lead female character.

However, I rated this book very low because of the HORRIBLE narrator. Every 3rd sentence was a long, loud and very annoying inhaling sound. Either he needs breathing control training or the producer had no budget for editing and sound clean-up. His intonation and charater voice (especially females) was unbelieveably bad. And his pacing - don't even get me started. The narrator RUINED this book for me.

I will admit, I am a Scott Brick fan but there are numerous other narrators that while not in the league of Brick are competent and talented. I hope this narrator kept his day job as he will certainly need it. Mr. Haig - just say NO to this reader in the future.

Loved the previous Sean Drummond stories but the narrator can be heard taking deep breaths every few seconds. For me it was not enjoyable to listen to for this reason. Would have been a great listen if read by Scott Brick as in previous books. Listen to the sample before you buy.

I loved this one!! While it took me a while to get used to a new reader, once I did , I was fine. I found the topic very timely and gave a interesting spin to current events (albeit fiction - I hope) . Loved the depth of the female character and hope the ending is foreshadowing a sequel.

I have read all of Brian Haig's fiction, generally getting them in hard cover, not wanting to wait for the paperback. Additionally, I rarely if ever re-read any book, but I have listened to a couple of Haig's book in audio format while running along the Mississippi River. I agree with the other listeners who have identified this reader as one of the worst. I would prefer to listen to computer-generated readings or listen to a touch-tone phone answering monologue. So, don't skip this last book by Brian Haig....simply get in paper.

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